The Barona Bus comes to the Art Barn

The Barona Bus comes to the Art Barn

Connie Cheng

POSTED

The Barona Bus made a stop at the Art Barn on the evening on August 22. UTD alumna Leah Foster and the bus have traveled from NYC to Texas, stopping at a slew of diverse venues along the way. They invited visitors to share in a potluck and leave their mark behind within this mobile cultural space.

The Barona Bus is an example of social practice, an art form utilizing creativity to address a particular social issue or help to shape a community. Such projects can often span several years, with social interactions serving as the art.

Leah Foster and Una Mulale collaborated to launch their social practice project earlier this year. Barona, meaning “ours” in Setswana, signifies the unification of every person as equals and empowerment through as merging of art and medicine. It is also the proposed name of the children’s hospital that the two aspire to build in Botswana, which would be the country’s first.

The bus is currently on a tour across America to connect people across the bounds of socioeconomic status, race, religion, and location. The contributions its gathered along the way showcase what Foster and Mulale have learned – thus far – during the intercultural collaborations achieved through intimate dinner parties and art workshops hosted on the bus.

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